Fresh pork stalls closed

Fresh pork sales have been halted for one day on Wednesday due to a gas leak at the sole abbatoir in Jurong. -- PHOTO: AIDAH RAUF

PORK sellers in wet markets across the island will take an unscheduled holiday on Wednesday, following a gas leak that forced a one-day closure of the sole abattoir here.

Most of those who sell fresh Indonesian pork have opted to take the day off instead of switching to selling frozen pork or pork from other sources.

Fresh pork from pigs imported from Indonesia for slaughter here will reappear in wet markets and supermarkets on Thursday, said a spokesman for the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA).

Madam Lau Geok Tin, whose stall is in the Clementi Avenue 3 wet market, said: 'My regulars like fresh pork. There's no point switching to supplying frozen or chilled pork for just a day.'

With each pig costing $300, the shutdown adds up to a $270,000 loss for the abattoir in Jurong, which slaughters a daily shipment of 900 pigs from Pulau Bulan in the Riau islands.

Operations on its Buroh Lane premises were halted on Monday morning, when a metal tube supplying ammonia to cool the air in the meat chillers sprang a leak. To prevent ammonia contamination of the pork, the entire shipment was incinerated.